


infinite war.

by layuh



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt and comfort, Irondad, One Shot, Short, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, intended lowercase, not ship, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 19:21:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layuh/pseuds/layuh
Summary: things weren't the same after the war.





	infinite war.

as peter felt his chest rise and fall irregularly, as he heard his heartbeat pounding in his own ears, and as he watched his shaking hands,  ~~~~fearing that they were going to turn to dust- he was sure about one thing.

things will never be the same.

for some, the war was quickly forgotten. attempts to rush and move on were collectively made by almost everyone around peter. 

the world kept spinning.

peter was convinced his world stopped completely.

because what other excuse was there? why else would he be stuck shaking in tangled sheets, eyes wide and shooting around the room searching for danger, at 3:19 in the morning?

the war ended for some people almost instantly, but for peter? it was infinite. 

"mr. parker, boss is on his way now." a voice from above spoke loudly, but a delicate undertone to the words. this was his new normal now. peter jolted at the noise, his hands flying to cover his ears, tugging at his hair.

he almost forgot he was at the compound until FRIDAY spoke.

"tony." his voice spoke softly to the empty room, tears blurring his vision. "tony." he wheezed, doubling over, gulping up as much air as his lungs would allow.

the door was closed as soon as it was opened, tony already cooing sweet nothings to peter as he strode to the bed.

peter barely registered being pulled into tony's chest until he inhaled the familiar scent of that damn cologne. tony's arms were tight, but loose. his comforting words were firm, but soft.

peter tugged harshly at his hair, letting a sob escape his throat. "i'm gone, tony. i'm gone. i'm dead, i'm gone." he babbled through his short breaths.

tony was quick to take peter's hands from his head. "stop, peter, you'll hurt yourself." he whispered, holding him closer. "hey, it's okay. you're here, not gone. you're with me. come back to me." his voice was soft, slow, and sweet.

peter shook his head rapidly, choking on his cries. "i'm dead, tony. i'm gone!" his voice became frantic and cracked every other word. peter's sobs were muffled by tony's hoodie, but that didn't make them any less painful or heartbreaking.

it was worse this night. neither of the two knew why, but they both knew it.

tony let a silent tear or two escape as the young  ~~ _(too fucking young)_~~ boy broke down in his arms. one hand held the back of his head as he carded his fingers through the auburn curls on the teenager's head- the other hand was placed at his mid back, holding him tightly and pulling him into tony's embrace.

tony pressed his mouth in peter's hair, inhaling the scent of strawberry shampoo, proving that he was real and that he wasn't dust. 

"peter." he murmured affectionately into his curls as the boy began to even his breathing under him.

it was peter now. unless they were joking around, tony never called him 'pete, underoos, spider-baby, or kid.' it was always peter. the name coming from tony's mouth was enough for peter to relax a little and fall limp into tony's grip as he caught his breath again.

they stayed like that for a while. maybe seconds, minutes, hours. neither knew or kept track, but both would sure as hell stay like that a million times over.

no words were needed. just the heartbeat of one another was enough. the breathing, the solid  _ ~~(and not dusted)~~_ ~~~~boy under him.

after an eternity, peter pulled away, occasionally jolting due to the aftershock, adrenaline still running through his veins. 

tony looked at the younger boy, who sat up on his knees and looked up at tony with so much trust  ~~ _(even after he let him die)_~~ in those glossy dark brown eyes. the moonlight through the window shone on his face, showing the wet tear marks on his freckled cheeks.

he looked tired. not in the sleepy way. he looked tired in the 'i'm sick of living a life where nothing is the same anymore'. too tired. too young.

tony couldn't help himself from reaching out his thumb and wiping a tear from peter's eye. the teenager leaned into the touch with closed eyes and a shaky sigh.

peter let his body collapse from exhaustion, trusting his mentor completely to catch him.

and he did. he always did.

yeah, things weren't the same after the war.

but tony would always be there to keep peter's world spinning.

 


End file.
